3. A. Why does Herot remain empty for twelve years? 
B. Why doesn’t Grendel touch King Hrothgar’s throne? 
C. What do Hrothgar and his council do to try to save his guest-hall? 
D. Describe what happens to Grendel when he raids Herot and finds Beowulf in charge. 

4. The Monster Grendel  

5. . . A powerful monster, living down              In the darkness, growled in pain, impatient              As day after day the music rang              Loud in that hall, the harp’s rejoicing  5         Call and the poet’s clear songs, sung              Of the ancient beginnings of us all, recalling              The Almighty making the earth, shaping              These beautiful plains marked off by oceans,              Then proudly setting the sun and moon  10         To glow across the land and light it; 

6. So Hrothgar’s men lived happy in his hall              Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend,              Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild              Marshes, and made his home in a hell              Not hell but earth. He was spawned in that slime,  20         Conceived by a pair of those monsters born              Of Cain, murderous creatures banished              By God, punished forever for the crime              Of Abel’s death.

7. So Hrothgar’s men lived happy in his hall              Till the monster stirred, that demon, that fiend,              Grendel, who haunted the moors, the wild              Marshes, and made his home in a hell              Not hell but earth. He was spawned in that slime,  20         Conceived by a pair of those monsters born              Of Cain, murderous creatures banished              By God, punished forever for the crime              Of Abel’s death.

9. Then, when darkness had dropped, Grendel              Went up to Herot, wondering what the warriors              Would do in that hall when their drinking was done.              He found them sprawled in sleep, suspecting              Nothing, their dreams undisturbed. The monster’s  35         Thoughts were as quick as his greed or his claws:              He slipped through the door and there in the silence              Snatched up thirty men, smashed them              Unknowing in their beds, and ran out with their bodies,              The blood dripping behind him, back  40         To his lair, delighted with his night’s slaughter. 

10. Grendel came again, so set              On murder that no crime could ever be enough,                  No savage assault quench his lust              For evil. Then each warrior tried              To escape him, searched for rest in different  55         Beds, as far from Herot as they could find,              Seeing how Grendel hunted when they slept.              Distance was safety; the only survivors              Were those who fled him. Hate had triumphed.              So Grendel ruled, fought with the righteous,

11. Twelve winters of grief for Hrothgar, king              Of the Danes, sorrow heaped at his door              By hell-forged hands. His misery leaped  65         The seas, was told and sung in all              Men’s ears: how Grendel’s hatred began,              How the monster relished his savage war              On the Danes, keeping the bloody feud              Alive, seeking no peace, offering  70         No truce, accepting no settlement, no price              In gold or land, and paying the living              For one crime only with another.

12. But Hrothgar’s Heart was bent
But Hrothgar’s              Heart was bent. The best and most noble              Of his council debated remedies, sat              In secret sessions, talking of terror              And wondering what the bravest of warriors could do.

13. The Coming of Beowulf

15. In his far-off home Beowulf, Higlac’s  110     Follower and the strongest of the Geats—greater              And stronger than anyone anywhere in this world—             Heard how Grendel filled nights with horror              And quickly commanded a boat fitted out,              Proclaiming that he’d go to that famous king,  115     Would sail across the sea to Hrothgar,              Now when help was needed.

16. So Beowulf  120     Chose the mightiest men he could find,              The bravest and best of the Geats, fourteen              In all, and led them down to their boat;              He knew the sea, would point the prow             Straight to that distant Danish shore

17. Now Grendel’s              Name has echoed in our land: Sailors  240     Have brought us stories of Herot, the best              Of all mead-halls, deserted and useless when the moon              Hangs in skies the sun had lit,              Light and life fleeing together.              My people have said, the wisest, most knowing  245     And best of them, that my duty was to go to the Danes’              Great king.

18. Now Grendel and I are called 255 Together, and I’ve come
Now Grendel and I are called  255     Together, and I’ve come. Grant me, then,              Lord and protector of this noble place,              A single request! I have come so far,              Oh shelterer of warriors and your people’s loved friend,              That this one favor you should not refuse me—  260    That I, alone and with the help of my men,              May purge all evil from this hall. I have heard,              Too, that the monster’s scorn of men              Is so great that he needs no weapons and fears none.              Nor will I. My lord Higlac  265     Might think less of me if I let my sword              Go where my feet were afraid to, if I hid              Behind some broad linden shield:

19. God must decide 270 Who will be given to death’s cold grip
God must decide  270     Who will be given to death’s cold grip.              Grendel’s plan, I think, will be              What it has been before, to invade this hall              And gorge his belly with our bodies. If he can,              If he can. And I think, if my time will have come,  275     There’ll be nothing to mourn over, no corpse to prepare              For its grave: Grendel will carry our bloody              Flesh to the moors, crunch on our bones,              And smear torn scraps of our skin on the walls              Of his den.

20. Fate will unwind as it must!”

21. The Battle with Grendel

22. Out from the marsh, from the foot of misty              Hills and bogs, bearing God’s hatred,              Grendel came, hoping to kill      Anyone he could trap on this trip to high Herot.              He moved quickly through the cloudy night,              Up from his swampland, sliding silently              Toward that gold-shining hall.

23. Then he stopped, seeing the hall      Crowded with sleeping warriors, stuffed              With rows of young soldiers resting together.    305   And his heart laughed, he relished the sight,              Intended to tear the life from those bodies              By morning; the monster’s mind was hot      With the thought of food and the feasting his belly              Would soon know. But fate, that night, intended     310 Grendel to gnaw the broken bones              Of his last human supper.

24. Grendel snatched at the first Geat  He came to, ripped him apart, cut              His body to bits with powerful jaws,              Drank the blood from his veins, and bolted       Him down, hands and feet; death              And Grendel’s great teeth came together,  Snapping life shut. Then he stepped to another              Still body, clutched at Beowulf with his claws,              Grasped at a strong-hearted wakeful sleeper       —And was instantly seized himself, claws              Bent back as Beowulf leaned up on one arm. 
That shepherd of evil, guardian of crime,              Knew at once that nowhere on earth              Had he met a man whose hands were harder; 

25. In the darkness, the horrible shrieks of pain              And defeat, the tears torn out of Grendel’s       Taut throat, hell’s captive caught in the arms              Of him who of all the men on earth  Was the strongest. 

26. Grendel              Saw that his strength was deserting him, his claws              Bound fast, Higlac’s brave follower tearing at     His hands. The monster’s hatred rose higher,              But his power had gone. He twisted in pain,  And the bleeding sinews deep in his shoulder              Snapped, muscle and bone split              And broke. The battle was over, Beowulf      Had been granted new glory: Grendel escaped,              But wounded as he was could flee to his den,  His miserable hole at the bottom of the marsh,              Only to die, to wait for the end              Of all his days.

29. No Dane doubted       The victory, for the proof, hanging high              From the rafters where Beowulf had hung it, was the monster’s  Arm, claw and shoulder and all.

31. Describe how Beowulf manages to kill Grendel’s mother.  
B. Who comes to Beowulf’s aid in his final battle with the dragon? Why does he help Beowulf? 
C. What sad scene concludes the epic? 
D. What happens to the dragon’s hoard?

32. The Monster’s Lair

33. They live in secret places, windy  Cliffs, wolf-dens where water pours              From the rocks, then runs underground, where mist              Steams like black clouds, and the groves of trees              Growing out over their lake are all covered       With frozen spray, and wind down snakelike  Roots that reach as far as the water              And help keep it dark. At night that lake              Burns like a torch. No one knows its bottom,              No wisdom reaches such depths.

34. Grendel’s mother       Is hidden in her terrible home, in a place  You’ve not seen. Seek it, if you dare! Save us,              Once more, and again twisted gold,              Heaped-up ancient treasure, will reward you              For the battle you win!” 

35. . . . He leaped into the lake, would not wait for anyone’s              Answer; the heaving water covered him              Over. For hours he sank through the waves;  At last he saw the mud of the bottom.              And all at once the greedy she-wolf    Years discovered him, saw that a creature              From above had come to explore the bottom  Of her wet world. She welcomed him in her claws,              Clutched at him savagely but could not harm him,     Tried to work her fingers through the tight              Ring-woven mail on his breast, but tore              And scratched in vain. Then she carried him, armor    And sword and all, to her home; he struggled              To free his weapon, and failed.

36. Then he saw      The mighty water witch, and swung his sword,              His ring-marked blade, straight at her head;              The iron sang its fierce song,    Sang Beowulf’s strength. But her guest              Discovered that no sword could slice her evil       Skin,

37. If weapons were useless he’d use      His hands, the strength in his fingers. So fame              Comes to the men who mean to win it              And care about nothing else! He raised  His arms and seized her by the shoulder; anger              Doubled his strength, he threw her to the floor.       She fell, Grendel’s fierce mother, and the Geats’              Proud prince was ready to leap on her. But she rose              At once and repaid him with her clutching claws,  Wildly tearing at him. He was weary, that best              And strongest of soldiers; his feet stumbled      And in an instant she had him down, held helpless.              Squatting with her weight on his stomach, she drew              A dagger, brown with dried blood and prepared  To avenge her only son….  

38. …the woven mail shirt he wore on his chest
…the woven mail shirt he wore on his chest.              The hammered links held; the point              Could not touch him. He’d have traveled to the bottom of the earth,  Edgetho’s son, and died there, if that shining              Woven metal had not helped—and Holy       God, who sent him victory, gave judgment              For truth and right, Ruler of the Heavens,              Once Beowulf was back on his feet and fighting. 

39. Then he saw, hanging on the wall, a heavy              Sword, hammered by giants, strong       And blessed with their magic, the best of all weapons              But so massive that no ordinary man could lift              Its carved and decorated length.

40. Caught her in the neck and cut it through, 540 Broke bones and all
Caught her in the neck and cut it through,  Broke bones and all. Her body fell              To the floor, lifeless, the sword was wet       With her blood, and Beowulf rejoiced at the sight. 

41. For final revenge against Grendel’s vicious              Attacks, his nighttime raids, over    And over, coming to Herot when Hrothgar’s              Men slept, killing them in their beds,              Eating some on the spot, fifteen  Or more, and running to his loathsome moor              With another such sickening meal waiting  In his pouch. But Beowulf repaid him for those visits,              Found him lying dead in his corner,              Armless, exactly as that fierce fighter  Had sent him out from Herot, then struck off              His head with a single swift blow. The body     Jerked for the last time, then lay still  

42. The
Last
Battle

43. And Beowulf uttered his final boast:
“I’ve never know fear, as a youth I fought
In endlesss battles. I am old now,
But I will fight again, seek fame still,
If the dragon hiding in his tower dares
To face me.”

44. We shall see, soon, who will survive              This bloody battle, stand when the fighting              Is done. No one else could do  What I mean to, here, no man but me              Could hope to defeat this monster. No one       Could try. And this dragon’s treasure, his gold              And everything hidden in that tower, will be mine              Or war will sweep me to a bitter death!” 

45. The beast rose, angry,       Knowing a man had come—and then nothing              But war could have followed. Its breath came first,              A steaming cloud pouring from the stone,  Then the earth itself shook. Beowulf              Swung his shield into place, held it        In front of him, facing the entrance. The dragon              Coiled and uncoiled, its heart urging it              Into battle. Beowulf’s ancient sword  Was waiting, unsheathed, his sharp and gleaming              Blade. The beast came closer; both of them       Were ready, each set on slaughter.

46. The monster came quickly toward him,              Pouring out fire and smoke, hurrying       To its fate. Flames beat at the iron              Shield, and for a time it held, protected              Beowulf as he’d planned; then it began to melt,  And for the first time in his life that famous prince              Fought with fate against him, with glory      Denied him.

47. …he raised his sword And struck at the dragon’s scaly hide
…he raised his sword              And struck at the dragon’s scaly hide.              The ancient blade broke, bit into  The monster’s skin, drew blood, but cracked              And failed him before it went deep enough, helped him       Less than he needed. The dragon leaped              With pain, thrashed and beat at him, spouting                      Murderous flames, spreading them everywhere.  And the Geats’ ring-giver did not boast of glorious              Victories in other wars: His weapon      Had failed him, deserted him, now when he needed it                  Most, that excellent sword. Edgetho’s              Famous son stared at death, 

48. Quickly, the dragon came at him, encouraged  As Beowulf fell back; its breath flared,              And he suffered, wrapped around in swirling      Flames—a king, before, but now              A beaten warrior. None of his comrades              Came to him, helped him, his brave and noble  Followers; they ran for their lives, fled              Deep in a wood. And only one of them       Remained, stood there, miserable, remembering,              As a good man must, what kinship should mean. 

49. His name was Wiglaf, he was Wexstan’s son  and a good soldier.

50. The
Spoils

51. . . . Then Wiglaf went back, anxious              To return while Beowulf was alive, to bring him              Treasure they’d won together. He ran,              Hoping his wounded king, weak       And dying, had not left the world too soon.  Then he brought their treasure to Beowulf, and found              His famous king bloody, gasping              For breath.

52. Then that brave king gave the golden              Necklace from around his throat to Wiglaf,              Gave him his gold-covered helmet, and his rings,       And his mail shirt, and ordered him to use them well:  “You’re the last of all our far-flung family.              Fate has swept our race away,              Taken warriors in their strength and led them              To the death that was waiting. And now I follow them.” 

53. The
Farewell

54. . . . And then twelve of the bravest Geats       Rode their horses around the tower,              Telling their sorrow, telling stories              Of their dead king and his greatness, his glory,    860 Praising him for heroic deeds, for a life              As noble as his name. So should all men       Raise up words for their lords, warm              With love, when their shield and protector leaves              His body behind, sends his soul  On high. And so Beowulf’s followers              Rode, mourning their beloved leader,  840     Crying that no better king had ever              Lived, no prince so mild, no man              So open to his people, so deserving of praise.